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Napirisha

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Napirisha (Linear Elamite: Napirriša)[1] was a major Elamite deity. He likely originated from Anshan.

Name

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The name Napirisha is written logographically as dGAL. Hinz had in 1965 suggested that the name should be read as Napirisha ("napir" god, and "risha" great) in Elamite, and since then other sources have confirmed the reading.[2] The name is spelled syllabically as Na-ap-ri-ša or Na-pi-ri-ša in the Old Elamite period, and the Šurpu collection of incantations spells the name as Nap-ru-šu.[3]

Characteristics

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Napirisha is presumed to originate from Anshan, entering Susa as a dynastic god,[4] especially since Kiririsha, who is generally viewed to be the consort of Napirisha, is the tutelary goddess of Liyan.[5] Many scholars since then believe Napirisha (and Kiririsha) were Anshanite gods.[6] It is suggested that in later periods Napirisha represented Anshan as its main god, similar to Inshushinak with Susa.[7]

The earliest attestation of Napirisha is in a tablet likely dating to the early Sukkalmah dynasty, where an oath was taken in the name of the god.[8]

In the Šurpu incantation series, Napirisha is identified with Ea.[9]

Napirisha is sometimes assumed to also be an underworld god, in a similar vein to Inshushinak, Lagamal and Kiririsha,[10] as Napirisha is identified with Ea who was associated with subterranean waters.[11]

The identification of the god on the Kurungum relief, and by extension the motif of a god on a serpent throne with streaming waters, is currently still a subject of debate. Some scholars identify the god on the relief as Napirisha, while others with Inshushinak. De Miroschedji identified the figure as Inshushinak, but recognized that the identification with Napirisha would be more convenient.[12] Potts had suggested that it was both Napirisha and Inshushinak, especially on the basis that both gods were identified with Ea.[13] Álvarez-Mon suggests that the two gods were syncretized and shared responsibilities, and thus the relief may have depicted them as one.[14] De Graef also suggests that both deities are depicted as one in a seal dating to the sukkalmah period that depicts a god on a serpent throne with water flowing from the hand.[15]

Relationship with other deities

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Napirisha appears commonly together with Inshushinak starting from the Sukkalmah period, and from the middle Elamite period Napirisha forms a kind of divine triad with Kiririsha and Inshushinak,[16] and is likely the main national triad.[17]

Napirisha and Kiririsha are presented to be a couple,[18] and an inscription from Silhak-Inshushinak lists Hutran as their son.[19] They are generally viewed as the divine couple of Anshan.[6] One of the suggestions of the identity of the deities depicted on the Kurangum relief was that of Napirisha and Kiririsha, as the relief depicts one god and one goddess.[18]

Napirisha and Inshushinak also share traits and possibly iconography, and the two gods may had been syncretized together.[14] Other scholars further suggest that they may even have been viewed as the same god at one point.[20] König notes that in texts from Chogha Zanbil Napirisha and Inshushinak were treated as singular grammatically, but assumes a bad grammatical understanding of an original Akkadian term, while Grillot-Susini and Jahangirfar takes it as evidence that the two gods were syncretized.[21] Grillot-Susini believes that Inshushinak assimilated some of Napirisha's traits due to political and religious reasons, but points out that they remained as separate deities,[22] and De Graef also stresses that even if they appear together so much that their iconography and characteristics have meshed together, it does not mean they are the same god.[23]

An old theory pioneered by Hinz was that Napirisha was a taboo name for Humban, and that it was an epithet for Humban. However, de Miroschedji had shown that Napirisha and Humban were separate and distinct deities,[24] and the dual-name Humban-napirisha is not attested in Elamite sources so Napirisha also can't be an epithet.[25] The view that Napirisha and Humban are separate gods is currently the more accepted one.[26]

Worship

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A temple to Napirisha, Kiririsha and the Bahahutep is attested at Tol-e Peytul (Liyan) in the Middle Elamite period.[27] Shrines dedicated to Napirisha were also discovered in Susa during the Middle Elamite Period.[6]

De Miroschedji suggested that Napirisha was the personal god of Untash-Napirisha.[4]

The name of a temple constructed by Hutelutush-Inshushinak at Anshan and dedicated to Napirisha, Kiririsha, Inshushinak and Simut was translated as the "temple of alliance" by M. Lambert, which de Miroschedji interpreted as representing the union of the regions of Elam, that being Susa, Anshan and Simut as Elam.[7] Additionally, the high temple at Chogha Zanbil was dedicated jointly to Napirisha and Inshushinak, although several inscriptions appear to refer to both of the gods as singular.[21]

Napirisha was still attested during the Achaemenid period, and is recorded in the fortification texts.[28]

Citations

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  1. ^ Desset, François. "Nine Linear Elamite Texts Inscribed on Silver "Gunagi" Vessels (X, Y, Z, F', H', I', J', K' and L'): New Data on Linear Elamite Writing and the History of the Sukkalmaḫ Dynasty". Iran. 56 (2). ISSN 0578-6967.
  2. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 129.
  3. ^ Koch 2001, p. 163.
  4. ^ a b de Miroschedji 1980, p. 136.
  5. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 137.
  6. ^ a b c Potts 2013, p. 134.
  7. ^ a b de Miroschedji 1980, p. 143.
  8. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 134.
  9. ^ Tavernier 2013, p. 482.
  10. ^ Tavernier 2013, p. 473.
  11. ^ Henkelman 2008, p. 330.
  12. ^ de Miroschedji 1981, p. 23.
  13. ^ Potts 2013, p. 133-134.
  14. ^ a b Álvarez-Mon 2020, p. 206.
  15. ^ De Graef 2018, p. 131.
  16. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 135.
  17. ^ Jahangirfar 2018, p. 110.
  18. ^ a b Henkelman 2008, p. 331.
  19. ^ Dadashi, Jahangirfar & Seyyed Ahmadi Zavieh 2023, p. 147.
  20. ^ Dadashi, Jahangirfar & Seyyed Ahmadi Zavieh 2023, p. 148.
  21. ^ a b Jahangirfar 2018, p. 116.
  22. ^ Grillot-Susini 2014, p. 105.
  23. ^ De Graef 2018, p. 130-131.
  24. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 130-131.
  25. ^ de Miroschedji 1980, p. 130.
  26. ^ Henkelman 2008, p. 355.
  27. ^ Potts 2010, p. 63.
  28. ^ Henkelman 2008, p. 60.

References

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  • Koch, H. (2001). "Napiriša". Reallexicon der Assyriologie. 9: 163–164.
  • Potts, Daniel T. (2010). "Elamite Temple Building". From the Foundations to the Crenellations. Essays on Temple Building in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible (366): 49.
  • Tavernier, Jan (1 January 2013). "Elamite and Old Iranian Afterlife Concepts". In De Graef, Katrien; Tavernier, Jan (eds.). Susa and Elam. Archaeological, Philological, Historical and Geographical Perspectives. pp. 471–489. doi:10.1163/9789004207417_028.
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